The mummy tummy
Nobody likes a bulging tummy, especially if you used to see your tip toes
when you look down and now you can no longer do that….We usually call that a “mummy
tummy” or a “baby pouch”
What causes the mummy tummy?
1- Fat caused by gain weight or eating the wrong types of
food
2- Stretched weak connective tissues
3- Separation of the abdominal muscles called “diastasis recti”
What is diastasis recti?
a diastasis recti is a separation of the rectus abdominis or the
outermost abdominal muscles. When the muscles separate, the connective tissue
that joins them stretches sideways getting weaker.When the muscles separate the
support to your lower back is weakened causing low back pain and tummy
bulge.Also now all your organs are supported by just weak tissues not by
muscles, which will let them bulge out more.
What causes diastasis recti?
We are born with separated muscles that close at about 3 years of
age, sometimes it doesn’t completely close or it reseparates:
- Too much Weight gain in the abdominal area
- Growing uterus during pregnancy, gets worse with every pregnancy
- Doing abdominal exercises incorrectly
- Putting to much force on these tissues and muscles
Diagnosing diastasis recti:
My son is about to get married, Is it too late to close your diastasis?
The good news is even if it has been 30 years since you had your
separation you can still fix
Loosing the mummy tummy:
1-
Strengthen your inner most muscles, the transverse abdominis
2-
Strengthen your pelvic floor
3-
Then strengthen your outermost abdominal wall
The Transverse Abdominis
The deepest layer of the abdominal wall
Runs across the abdomen and
performs abdominal compression, which draws the belly inward, and narrows the
waist.
It is also referred to as
the body's "internal girdle” or “splint” responsible for closing your diastasis
and flattening your stomach
Healing your diastasis
Find your transverse abdominis muscle
Without raising or tensing your chest or shoulders, draw your
belly button back towards your spine as you slowly exhale. That’s the right
muscle!
Don’t suck your stomach, hold your breath, move your shoulders or
hips, all these tilts indicate the Transverse is not working – you have to
isolate this muscle .
Then you have to learn to engage your transverse abdominis Keeping your belly button to your spine all
the time, not only when you exercise, while bending, picking up your
baby, or walking.
How to avoid increasing you diastasis?
To strengthen your core you have to learn to control the shape of
your abdominal wall during exercise. To do this, you need to train your abs to
pull back in toward your spine during exertion.
Notice the difference in the shape of the abdomen. You shouldn’t do
any exercise or movement that lets your abdominal wall bulge out, it just means
you’re not strong enough to do it yet, your transverse can’t stay engaged, and
if you let it bulge you are actually causing more harm and getting a bigger
tummy.
You should avoid all exercises that puts stress on your abdominal
wall until the separation closes completely and when you go back to t=your
regular exercise routine you still have to control the shape of your abdomen and
not let it bulge out. Crunches, oblique’s, and Pilates 100 are a few of the exercises
that should be avoided until you heal your separation.
In exercise quality is more important than quantity, do fewer reps
with the right posture and you will notice the difference.
How to get up and down without hurting you diastasis:
Don’t get up from a back lying position directly always move to
your side and push yourself up
Don’t bend forward to pick up something or carry your baby instead
squat down using the muscles in your leg
If you do have to bend hold your transverses in as hard as u can
Breathing technique to strengthen your transverse muscles
1. Pull the bellybutton towards the spine as far as you can and hold for 30
seconds. Release and repeat.
2. Engage the bellybutton a little bit 1, bring it back halfway 3, then bring
it back all the way 6 . Bring back to 3, then back to 6. Go back and
forth 25 times. Over time, work up to 50-100 repetitions.
3. Pull the bellybutton to floor 5. Hold for 30 seconds, then pulse back to
floor 6 as many times as possible.
You can do these
exercises anywhere Just do them!
Belly breath
You should be filling
you tummy with air, expanding it forward while you inhale, and emptying it up
and contracting it inward while you exhale.
Splinting
Wearing a splint or a
tummy support can actually help, especially in larger separations above 3
fingers, it helps hold the muscles closer together and allows faster healing.Make sure it doesnt take over the role of your muscles, you still have to be aware of your transverse and engage them in all acitivities.
The pelvic floor
Strong pelvic-floor muscles are an integral part of your body's
internal core stabilizers.
pelvic floor muscles endure extreme stretching, (and sometimes tearing) in just
a matter of hours during birth. And they do not automatically heal after
childbirth, you need to
strengthen them through Kegel exercises.
How to do Kegel exercises?
Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which
support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum.
- Find your pelvic floor muscles by stopping the flow of urine. If you succeed, you've got the right muscles.now try to isolate that muscle with an empty bladder.
- Once you've identified your pelvic floor muscles, lie on your back. Imagine an elevator rising up higher and higher as you intensify your effort.Rather than squeezing and lifting all at once, divide your contraction into two parts. Squeeze and lift just a little bit and STOP (as if your elevator is going up and stopping on the first floor), then squeeze and lift all the way and STOP (as if your elevator has made it up to the second floor). Then relax the pelvic floor just a little bit and STOP (as if your elevator is going back down to the first floor), then relax the pelvic floor all the way and finish (as if your elevator has made it back to ground level).
- focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Avoid holding your breath. Instead, breathe freely during the exercises.
- Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions a day.
Julie Tupler, RN the author of Lose Your Mummy Tummy, highly recommend for anyone struggling with a weakened core or “mummy
tummy” caused by diastasis, the only scientifically proven way to close the
diastasis, I recommend starting with the Tupler technique until completely
closing the gap.
The 4-Step Tupler Technique® includes:
Tupler Technique® Exercises (Elevator, Contracting &
Headlifts)
Splinting with the Diastasis Rehab Splint®
Using your abdominals correctly with activities of daily living
Getting up and down correctly.
A few youtube videos showing excercises that help strengthen you
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